Hugh's Room Reveals Plans to Restructure and Reopen

Toronto venue Hugh's Roomclosed its doors unexpectedly last weekend, bringing all business operations to a halt. Now, a committee has been created to explore ways to restructure and reopen the club.

A press release reveals that the committee met for the first time yesterday (January 11), focusing on three main priorities with the goal of reopening and reestablishing the live music hub. The group will focus on having the doors open again as soon as possible, developing a business plan to ensure future success and making sure venue staff, artists and audience members are treated fairly.

The press release also reveals that plans are in place for Hugh's Room to "move forward under proposed community-ownership structure and the will is strong to make that happen sooner than later." The committee has named Order of Canada member and luthier William "Grit" Laskin as its spokesperson, having been recognized as "one of Hugh's Room's strongest supporters throughout the years."

As previously reported, Hugh's Room owner Richard Carson made the decision to not open the venue hours before a scheduled performance on January 6. "I'm basically insolvent and I'm going to be taking the next few days to figure out what my options are," Carson told the Toronto Star.

Speaking to CBC, Carson elaborated, "Hugh's Room has been struggling for many years... and we've always been able to get through the next weekend, but I got through the point on Friday where I thought, I don't know how I'm going to get through the next weekend,"

Musicians and industry members have taken to social media to show support for the venue, and you can find a selection of those here.